Pinterest.

I am an avid Tweeter and Instagramer with touches of Facebook and Pinterest on the side. What's better than connecting with your loved ones wherever they are in the world, posting a selfie when you feel good, and keeping up to date with world news, trends and your favourite celebrities and brands at the swipe of your finger. But like all good things in life, there is ultimately a downside...

Social media is an undeniable part of travel. From reading blog reviews of where to stay, to getting that all important Snapchat at the beach, many of us will continue to check in to our social networks throughout our holiday - and hotels are taking note.

Why are more and more brands essentially becoming media owners and content generators? Content allows them to build direct relationships with their customers and then buy into the brand's ethos and become brand ambassadors.

The tech boom has revolutionised how we live our lives in countless ways, one of which being that we're constantly plugged in to the internet and able to communicate with each other. However whilst this state of "hyperconnectivity" gives us access to more information and people than ever before, is being constantly contactable making us happy?

I want to introduce colour and fun to brighten up a bit of a dull space and am very much looking forward to surprising the couple who live there with some unexpected items and do it all on an affordable & realistic budget. It's going to be done in five easy steps so watch this space!

My mother who has a diploma in Interior Design is my constant source of inspiration and her success has given me a real passion for property and interiors. In the past few years I have had the opportunity to start my own journey into property and, after the success of our first renovation, my partner and I have moved onto our second property.

I have always loved home interiors. Ever since I had my first home, I've been making moodboards, collecting cuttings from magazines and hunting down my favourite trends of the season. Creating Love Chic Living was an amazing way to collate all those ideas into one resource, showcasing my love of interior design and finding others who love it too.

One of the biggest challenges (but most rewarding) we faced when doing our home was the galway kitchen, as we now own a Victorian home as we had to create a bright, open area with limited space and budget. Therefore, my three top tips for lighting a room (especially a small space!) would be...

The selfie is so last year perhaps, but it's hardly a new concept: it's today's equivalent of the artist's self-portrait, in the same way that instagramming your lunch is just the current version of still life. Humankind has always tried to bear reality through gazing into its own identity.

Social sharing has changed drastically over the past year. We, as consumers, no longer exercise a one dimensional approach to social content sharing. Recent research from the global social media impact study (GSMIS) provides a fascinating insight into shifts in social media, but while the focus has so far been on the apparent decline of Facebook, the real story is the diversity in how services are used.

As the legal sector doesn't have products to pin pictures of, why not use people instead? Images of staff going about their daily lives, internal meetings, or even interactions at the coffee machine can help provide a more accessible public face for a firm.

As consumers, our demand is not only directed by our needs, but by the needs of others. The fashion e-commerce has started to spot this notion of 'I want it too' to enable and encourage buyers to upload photos of their products to use as a marketing tool of 'social proofing'.

Instead of being shut out or feeling excluded, customers are now connecting with the brands they love and feeling that they are part of an industry which has traditionally been closed off to outsiders. This increased level of interaction is allowing brands to monetize through awareness, engagement, passion and brand loyalty.

Yesterday was the 10th international Safer Internet Day, the day to create awareness about online safety issues - there are lots of great resources being publicized for anyone who uses the internet. Of course there are plenty of basic resources available to protect internet users and students of all ages.

You all follow Instagram-My-Expensive-Food-Guy, right? And Blog-My-Baby-Woman? How about Here's-All-My-Work-This-Week-Writer? You'll soon be blankly consuming Vine-My-Walk-To-Work-Dude. They're people telling you their lives have depth, that they're fabulous.

Back in the old days it was simple. Fast forward to 2013 and look at the distribution network for an online operation? Who are the paperboys? Who are the distribution managers? And when will companies with digital ambitions, who value their content, realise that they must invest more in how they distribute content?

Of course, many of us already do but we're still in the minority; in 2013 shopping through mobile phones will become a mainstream activity. After many false predictions, 2012 really was the year of the mobile device.

With phones so hard to come by and email all but redundant, given that only the intended recipient gets to see it and not half of Twitter, the open letter is the old friend to the exhibitionist, and I am honoured to be writing one right now, to you, knowing the huge effect it will absolutely not have in any way at all. Zero.

While the fake moustache has been an item of fashion for a while now, Movember seems to have exploded its chicness. According to a quick glance at my Pinterest feed, there are at least half a dozen ways in which I, being of the facial hair challenged variety, can participate in Movember. The Pièce de résistance: Moustache Macaroons.

Now Europe's largest technology conference, the Web Summit is bringing together more than 200 leaders of the World's greatest technology companies to engage with over 3000 + attendees for this now-iconic two day event.

If you're a current student or graduate you'll have access to a pretty big toolbox that can keep you connected. I'm not talking about commenting on those Facebook photos you get tagged in from terrible clubs in town - I'm talking about finding and speaking to your future employer.

As a professional wordsmith, I'm used to being paid for my work. As a blogger and guest blogger, I've had to become used to writing for free, in return for the inbound links and profile-raising. Maybe image-producers will have to let go of their copyright too.

Here's the deal. These days, when a news firm puts out a recruitment ad for a reporter, they are not just asking for a writer. They most likely also want a blogger and a tweeter, who may even code and design, all rolled into one package deal.